RANE

Research in Art, Nature & Environment

From 2004-16 the RANE research group at Falmouth University examined the relationship between the visual arts and ecological thinking, with the aim of contributing to a more sustainable future. Against the backdrop of accelerating environmental and economic collapse the arts are seen as a method for developing alternative models of thinking and doing. In 2017 RANE and its research activities became part of the art.earth family and RANE is now formally part of art.earth. Find out about current Associates

RANE is part of an expanding global network of creative responses to our current environmental and social crises. The growing crisis that we are facing is, in large part, a systemic failure and consequently cannot be tackled with more of the same thinking. The scale of the changes we are witnessing requires a process of radical reassessment. The arts are seen as particularly valuable in this arena as they readily use flexible, open-ended, non-linear methods to examine, explore and engage with issues and ideas.

The creative methods utilised by members of the group are not restricted to any specific medium. Indeed it is significant that, if we are to move towards sustainability, creative thinking transcends rigid boundaries imposed by a provisional structure of disciplines. For this reason the activities of the RANE group are intentionally trans-disciplinary, moving not just between the arts and humanities, but also drawing from scientific and philosophical thinking.